Erling Haaland staying at Dortmund for another season
The striker has already told Borussia Dortmund that he will remain for next season in the Bundesliga, with Real Madrid lining him up for the summer of 2022.
Although his agent, Mino Raiola, told AS that "the future of one player never depends on another,” the truth is that Real Madrid's plan is to bring Erling Haaland to the new Santiago Bernabéu in the summer of 2022, with the initial focus on ensuring Kylian Mbappé comes in first.
Real Madrid’s Haaland plan for 2022
The Norwegian striker, just as with the French superstar, is determined to wear the famous shirt of Los Blancos. And so far, everything appears to be going according to plan for the Spanish giants.
Haaland has told Borussia Dortmund that he is going to stay with the Bundesliga club for another season, and this was confirmed by club director Sebastian Khel in statements to Sky.
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“Erling is staying for another year. He is in total agreement,” said Kehl. “I see him every day and I can say that he identifies completely with the club.”
Dortmund are happy to go along with Madrid's strategy allowing them to keep the prolific striker there for another year. The good relationship between Dortmund CEO Hans-Joaquim Watzke and Florentino Pérez is also key to this.
Madrid's Haaland-Mbappé sliding doors
However, there is a situation that could change this. Dortmund are far from guaranteed to qualify for the Champions League next season and if they were to fail in this quest, Haaland would likely look for an immediate exit. He does not want to spend a whole year out of the showpiece tournament and any future contract could be hit by that.
There is another factor that could flip Madrid’s current transfer scheming. If PSG decide to hold firm and not release Mbappé this summer, despite his contract running down, then Pérez would switch the order of Galáctico signings. Los Blancos would bring forward the negotiations for Haaland for this summer and then unite the two stars, along with the redeveloped stadium, the following year.
PSG at an Mbappé crossroads
Mbappé’s situation at PSG is therefore a game changer in this saga, while Madrid watch on and react on the back of it. The French player is determined to play for the Spanish side, hence why he has been dragging his feet on a renewal, already having turned down three offers.
Assuming PSG cannot convince him to renew, they will have to decide between selling him this summer to a European rival and make a decent amount of money, or hold onto him, potentially having an expensive but unhappy player, and then lose him for nothing in a year.
The footballing world is watching closely.